Kanetix buys Insurance Hotline comparison website

Insurance quote comparison company Kanetix Ltd. has acquired Insurance Hotline for an undisclosed amount from subsidiaries of Torstar Corp., in a transaction finalized Thursday.

The Kanetix.ca and InsuranceHotline.com websites will “marketing strategies,” but will continue to run as separate brands managed by Kanetix Ltd. Insurance Hotline also includes ComparaSave.com, another price comparison website for insurance and other financial products. 

It’s too early to say what that joint marketing strategy will look like, but the the idea going forward will be to increase overall traffic to both sites, which will help grow broker and insurance partners’ businesses, Janine White, vice president of marketplace for Kanetix told Canadian Underwriter in an interview.  

Insurance Hotline has a larger number of broker relationships than Kanetix, and that relationship with brokers will continue to be important, White said. “I think we are going to be stronger together to help grow the channel.”

Kanetix will also be using its digital marketing strengths, including social media, to help market both brands together, she said.

Torstar, whose subsidiaries previously owned Insurance Hotline’s sites, will hold a minority stake in the new combined entity. While the media giant won’t have any decision-making power, it will play an important advisory role and its properties will continue to be used for marketing purposes, White said.

White said she doesn’t envision the sites ever becoming a single brand, since their offerings’ strengths and business models are still slightly different, and offering more choice to consumers is still a priority.